Erik Myers

Hey guys, Boot came in today! it's brand new and smells disgusting. im gonna slap it on tonight along with the cleaned out CIS unit and see if maybe that helps get this thing off the ground. Wish me luck. Ill keep you updated.

Erik Myers

Well, I finally had the time so I began re-assembling the quattro last night. I put the new air boot on and replaced the O-rings on the fuel injectors, they were hard as a rock and broke right off when I removed them. While I had the injectors out, I went ahead and tested out how they were doing, and its AWFUL. the injectors are so clogged, theyre just barely spraying a little squirt down in the cylinder. I really need to get them opened back up and misting properly. Any suggestions? I'm thinking some Seafoam i the gas tank but who knows if that would work. Cheers.

Erik Myers

Hey guys, its been a few days but I've made some progress on the 4000. The fuel injectors are screwed royally. I've ordered five new Bosch ones, I'm gonna plug them in when they arrive, and I'm really thinking it will help alot. I cranked the quattro up yesterday and noticed a LOUD buzzing coming from the fuel pump. I've decided to order a new Bosch one, that uses their new pump design, it's advertised to be much more quiet and last a long time, so We'll see how that goes as well. I'm paranoid the fuel pump may be close to crapping out anyways so that can't hurt. The last thing I ordered were new primary and secondary fuel filters to throw in while I'm at it. I want to be sure this engine issues isnt a fuel problem, and I can't imagine I'll have much left to do after I replace all of this stuff. I'll keep you updated and post after I get everything new installed. Wish me luck, it cost over $350 :'( Cheers

Rogviler

Probably something I should do. What's the model of the fuel pump? I managed to revive one of the three I had that were seized but it may have been too far gone like the others after all.

-Rog

Erik Myers

Rog,
I think it's a Bosch 69430, if I recall correctly. Apparently that's a universal one but it uses their newer turbine design that's supposed to do better than the old rotary kind. I'll post some picks of the two compared so you can see what the difference is. I've thought about trying to clean the old one out, and I may still do that and keep it for backup, I'm just too paranoid while the car is running so poorly that I want to replace literally everything I can. Cheers, Erik

Erik Myers

Well guys,
I installed the new injectors today. Nothing.....
When I first cranked it up, I got it to redline, which was fantastic. I hadn't been able to do that before. But sure enough, in just a few seconds, right back to the same old thing. Couldn't get it above 3k. It did feel like it had just a hair more power. Maybe it's just me being hopeful, but it did climb my hill a little easier than before. My fuel pump comes in tomorrow, I'm gonna go ahead and swap it out. Maybe I should drain the gas? no telling what's actually in the tank at this point. I'm feeling pretty stuck at this point. Suggestions would be great. Cheers

Rogviler

Humm...

When I drained my tank it was definitely full of rusty bits. However, draining and flushing it out with toilet bowl cleaner didn't seem to do much toward getting it to run. Certainly didn't hurt of course. Seems like changing the filters a couple of times would accomplish the same.

-Rog

Erik Myers

Hey Rog (And anyone else who's actually reading this),
Great news, I've hit a breakthrough!! The quattro now revs to 4000, that's right, FOUR THOUSAND RPM's. That's a whole 1000 higher than before!! I'm not sure if it was the injectors or not. I just got done replacing the fuel pump and filter, and I drained the gas tank. The gas looked fine, but I wanted to get it out and replace it with some high octane ethanol-free gas, which I did (I spilled gas everywhere too, ugh). Now when it runs, it spits and sputters, not at all like it did before. It gets up to 4000 and then jumps around, missing alot and losing power erratically, occasionally dropping as low as 3 before revving back to life. I'm happy that at least something seems to have changed, and I feel like I'm getting close to figuring this thing out.
The oddest thing is happening, as well. The car is giving off an incredibly strong smell. Its a sweet smell, so strong that it makes me sick to my stomach if I keep my head in the engine bay too long while it's running. I wonder what that could be? Is the quattro burning coolant?? Could this whole thing just be a blown head gasket?? Wow wouldn't that be something. I'm going to (finally) run compression tests on all the cylinders and check to see how my spark plugs are firing, and I'm gonna check the timing again just because why not. I'm also going to drain my oil and check for coolant or other things.
At this point the "potential causes" list is getting smaller by the day! Here's my current suspicions and ranks:
1. Blown Head Gasket
2. Distributor cap isn't giving constant sparks to all plugs. New cap, wires, etc. needed??
3. Pistons are losing compression somehow. Bad rings? Perhaps a symptom of the blown head gasket?
That smell HAS to mean something is off. I'll figure it out soon. Below is a link to a new video of the quattro running, notice how smooth it is save for the jumping occasionally at 4000 rpm's. Suggestions are welcome! cheers.

Erik Myers

Hey guys, update:
I checked compression. ~100psi at idle (Haynes calls for 102) and about 190 at 4000 RPM's. I also checked the timing, it's fine. Oil looks clean, so I don't suspect a head gasket leak anymore. The plugs were also nice and clean, and all sparked well. The timing seemed to lag quite a bit when I revved the engine, is this normal? Or is there supposed to be some sort of lag compensation that isn't happening? The smell wasn't so bad this time, I think that was just my coolant getting excessively hot from the car sitting still revving so much. There is some sort of wire assembly coming out of the side of the distributor, and it looks pretty rough, what is that? I checked the air metering flap, it still seems to be moving pretty smoothly, and if I push on it through the little hole with a stick it chokes the engine down, as expected. Updated suspect list:
1. OK I know this sounds crazy but... I think my catalytic converter may be clogging my engine down. I had a similar issue with my old RX-7 and I ended up cutting out the cat, I think I'm gonna take mine off tomorrow and check it out.
2. Something odd was up with the spark plugs when I tested the compression: When I removed each spark plug, the engine actually ran exactly the same. Like it didn't care at all that a plug was missing. That happened for all five plugs. That would tell me that the problem HAS to be either fuel or air, right? (Something not specific to a single cylinder) That's why I suspect the cat may be clogged up. I'm gonna run the car with the cat off tomorrow and see if that helps. If not, that really only leaves the fuel, or possibly the spark plugs lagging for some reason.
3. Spark plug lag. I wonder if they aren't advancing like they should. I need to do some more research, I don't even know if they're supposed to be advancing at all.
4. Ugh, the metering unit. I wonder if the CIS unit needs to be rebuilt. I wish I could test it to see if its putting out enough fuel. I may pull the #1 injector and see how much it's putting out.
Wish me luck guys, my spirits are high and I'm feeling lucky. Cheers

TEF1701

This is a cool thread to watch. Sorry you're having troubles with the engine, but hopefully this post will help you with the windows. I really need to make a step by step guide on doing this, but I just can't seem to find the time.

Your tangled cable spool that you pulled out of the motor is pretty typical of what I see. What causes it is a broken cable guide at the end of the plastic sheath (see pic). You can see that the plastic end cap is cracked. These often shear off or pieces of them end up wound up in the cable spool causing it to bind or the cable to come off. I made a fix for it, but I can't find the pictures right now. You basically have to build a new guide sleeve for the cable sheath to slide into. It keeps the cable straight as it comes into the motor housing and allows the cable and spring to slide smoothly without kinking or binding. I used 1/4" PEX water pipe and greased the crap out of it. I'll see if I can find pictures.



As far as detaching the cable form the track, you have to remove the plastic track guides, which will give you enough play to wiggle the carrier free from the track. The carrier is what the window bolts to. There are little tabs on both sides of the guide that prevent it from sliding out of the carrier when the window rolls up or down. Unfortunately you will have to break one of those tabs off and epoxy it back in place when you're all done. You can see a close-up of one of the guides separated from the carrier.




Here is the backside of the carrier. Basically both ends of the cable are crimped into one cable nut. If your cable is snapped, you will have to get replacement cable from Home Depot. It's standard stranded cable, but I can''t remember exactly what size. The critical part is the connection where the two cable ends meet. That has to be crimped TIGHT! It almost looks like they went so far as to solder it along with crimping, but solder might be too soft. Use epoxy, super glue or something along with crimping to hold that secure. Also make sure your new cable is EXACTLY the same length as the old one, not an inch too short or too long.



The last two pictures show how to release the cable sheath from the main track so that you can pull the cable off of the guide wheels. There is a clip that holds the upper and lower cable sheaths to the track. Use pliers to squeeze the tabs and release the clips.




I'll try to write up a complete guide to rebuilding the motor, track and cable when I have some free time. In the meantime, this should get you most of the way there. Above all GREASE GREASE and GREASE. When you think you've greased enough, grease it again. That will keep everything moving nice and smooth.